.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Harry Reid refuses to say why for months he has blocked a bipartisan bill designed to ensure inspectors general access all of the official documents they need to fight waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government.

Three months ago, the Nevada senator blocked an attempt to pass Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley’s IG Empowerment Act with unanimous consent, which would make it crystal clear that the 1978 Inspector General Act gives presidentially appointed IGs authority to access all agency records for investigations and audits.

Reid still refuses to change his position or explain his objections. A spokesman for Reid did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for an explanation of Reid’s opposition to the bill. The measure is co-sponsored by Democratic senators Tammy Baldwin and Claire McCaskill.

“I cannot imagine anything controversial about wanting inspectors general to have access to the people and documents they need to do their jobs for the American people,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, another co-sponsor of the bill and chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, told TheDCNF.

“Americans deserve a transparent and accountable government, and, this being Sunshine Week, it is particularly concerning that Minority Leader Reid refuses to disclose why these bipartisan, commonsense reforms are being blocked,” Johnson said.

The FBI began denying or delaying records sought in 2010 by the Department of Justice IG after the watchdog published several reports that were highly critical of the bureau. The FBI’s refusals contradicted the 1978 law granting IGs access to “all” agency records, but other agencies quickly followed the bureau’s lead.

The Peace Corps, for example, denied its IG access to data on sexual assaults against Peace Corps members serving abroad, and Environmental Protection Agency officials claimed attorney-client privilege to block the IG from obtaining sensitive records.

Adding to the tension, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) concluded in July 2015 the FBI can withhold wiretapping, surveillance and credit records from its IG.

Grassley introduced the IG Empowerment Act to serve as a final clarification that Congress sides with watchdog access and accountable government over agencies.

“Congress established inspectors general to be watchdogs on federal agencies, to ensure the government is serving the American people in a fair, upstanding and efficient manner,” Grassley told TheDCNF. “Congress gave these watchdogs authority to review all agency records to effectively do their job. Leave it, though, to the bureaucracy to twist the meaning of the simple three-letter word: all. Denying access to all records – access that Congress created – prevents IGs from fully protecting the American people from fraud, waste and misconduct in government.”

Reid shot down this seemingly uncontroversial bill on behalf of himself and other members, but refused to say why. Senate rules in a unanimous consent procedure require opposing members to identify themselves and state their reasons.

“Other senators are concerned about it, and I lead the objection on my behalf,” Reid said on the Senate floor in December. But he did not identify those senators or describe their concerns.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, hasn’t brought the measure back to the floor in the months since Reid’s blocking manuever. A McConnell spokesman said no vote is scheduled before the current session draws to a close.

Until Congress acts, agencies will continue to thwart transparency and accountability, Elizabeth Hempowicz, public policy director for the Project on Government Oversight, told TheDCNF.

“This bill is still extremely important, I would say even more important now than it was when it was first introduced,” Hempowicz said. “Every day that goes by without action from Congress to undo the OLC opinion from last July stating that DOJ IG does not have unfettered access to all of the agency’s documents bolsters that opinion and undermines IGs across the government. Until Congress passes the bill, that memo can be and has been used to block oversight.”

.
One of the more outlandish moments of the 2012 campaign came when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid went to the floor of the world’s greatest deliberative body and accused GOP nominee Mitt Romney of not paying any taxes at all for the past 10 years. Reid’s evidence? Someone had told him. (That “someone” is alleged to be Jon Huntsman, father of the former Utah governor. Huntsman denies involvement.)

Without seeing Romney’s taxes, we cannot definitively prove Reid incorrect. But tax experts say his claim is highly improbable. Reid also has made no effort to explain why his unnamed source would be credible. So, in the absence of more information, it appears he has no basis to make his incendiary claim.

Moreover, Reid holds a position of great authority in the U.S. Congress. He should hold himself to a high standard of accuracy when making claims about political opponents.

“Romney didn’t win, did he?” Reid said in response to Bash’s question of whether he regretted what he had said about Romney.

Think about that logic for a minute. What Reid is saying is that it’s entirely immaterial whether what he said about Romney and his taxes was true. All that mattered was that Romney didn’t win.

Where to begin?

How about with the fact that this all-means-justify-the-ends logic – assuming the end is your desired one – is absolutely toxic for politics and, more importantly, democracy. (Worth noting: Reid is far from the only one who practices this sort of thinking; it’s the rule rather than the exception in political Washington, where winning – no matter the cost – is the only goal that matters.) If you can lie – or, at a minimum, mislead based on scant information or rumor – then anything is justified in pursuit of winning. This sort of “the winners make the rules” approach is part of the broader partisan problem facing Washington and the polarization afflicting the nation more broadly. There is no trust between the two parties because they believe – and have some real justification for believing – that the other side will say and do literally anything to win.

Think about Reid’s statement in another context. I have two little kids. What if I told my son, who has just started playing soccer, that his only aim was to win the game – no matter how he accomplished that goal. After all, it’s not cheating unless someone can prove it, right?

Would anyone think that was either (a) good parenting or (b) broadly beneficial for society? No. That is the same logic Reid is applying here, but because we are all inured to the horribleness that is modern political strategy, people barely bat an eye. No, politics ain’t beanbag. I get that. But allowing elected officials to say anything they want about people running for office – and requiring zero proof in order to report those claims – seems to be a bridge too far. And to defend that behavior by saying, “Well, we won, didn’t we?” feels like the junior high school logic that shouldn’t be employed by the men and women trusted with representing us in Washington – or anywhere else.

.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid will not be seeking re-election in 2016.

The former majority leader, who has been a top target for Republican ire, released a video message Friday citing his New Year’s Day exercise injuries, saying they provided him “down time.”

“I have had time to ponder and to think,” he explained. “We’ve got to be more concerned about the country, the Senate, the state of Nevada than us. And as a result of that I’m not going to run for re-election.”

While the powerful Nevada Democrat said the accident gave him time to think, he stressed that the decision was not due to the injury.

“The decision that I’ve made has absolutely nothing to do with my injury, it has nothing to do with my being minority leader and it certainly has nothing to do with my ability to be re-elected because the path to re-election is much easier than probably has been any time that I’ve run for re-election,” he said.

Reid’s departure from the Senate in 22 months will end a three decade tenure in the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 1986. Before that, he served two terms in the House of Representatives.

His announcement comes the same week a Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report criticized Deputy DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over providing immigration benefits for the politically connected. The report named named Reid as a beneficiary of Mayorkas’ influence.

Following the announcement Friday, the National Republican Senatorial Committee offered an early victory dance, arguing that Reid was set to lose his re-election after losing the majority last cycle.

“Not only does Reid instantly become irrelevant and a lame duck, his retirement signals that there is no hope for the Democrats to regain control of the Senate,” NRSC executive director Ward Baker said.

He added that the Nevada race is now a hot ticket for Republicans.

“With the exception of Reid, every elected statewide official in Nevada is Republican and this race is the top pickup opportunity for the GOP.”

The report by the group states that Reid illegally met with his caucus in order to promote his re-election campaign, which would be a violation of Senate ethics rules.

The complaint was filed by the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), a conservative watchdog group founded by former U.S. Attorney Matt Whitaker.

According to Whitaker:

“The only reported topic [of the meeting] was to announce, ‘I’m running,’” Whitaker wrote in the complaint. “Even Politico admitted the meeting – attended by more than fifty Senate staffers – was ‘unusual.’”

Whitaker alleges that the meeting could even violate federal law.

The meeting took place in the Capitol building’s Mansfield Room.

A story in Politico alleges that Reid kicked off the meeting by saying that he planned on running for reelection next year.

The complaint states that Reid “reportedly announced his reelection campaign from the confines of an official Senate meeting room located mere steps from the Senate floor.”

The complaint further reads:

“Federal law prohibits the use of official funds for any use other than that for which they were appropriated,” the complaint says. “The Congress has not appropriated money for the day-to-day operation of the Senate for campaign use.”

Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid broke a “number” of ribs and bones in his face during an accident on Thursday at his home, according to his office.

.

.
The Nevada senator, 75, was using an exercise machine on New Year’s Day when the equipment broke, “causing him to fall,” his office said.

The accident occurred at Reid’s home in Henderson, Nev., and he was taken to a hospital there and then to University Medical Center in Las Vegas. He was kept in the hospital overnight “as a precaution.”

A spokeswoman said Reid was discharged from the hospital on Friday.

“He sends his thanks to all those who sent warm wishes and is ready to get back to work,” said Kristen Orthman, Reid’s deputy communications director.

Reid also suffered an exercise accident in 2011, when he slipped and fell, putting his arm in a sling and giving him a black eye.

Despite his injures, Reid plans to return to Washington for the new session of Congress that begins next week. The Senate will reconvene Tuesday under Republican control, pushing Reid into the role of minority leader.

President Obama phoned Reid from Hawaii on Friday “to wish him a full and speedy recovery,” according to the White House.

“The president was glad to hear the leader is doing well, and will be back in Washington this weekend,” said White House spokesman Eric Schultz.

Reid will be returning to work after a tumultuous 2014 that saw Democrats lose the Senate in a midterm election drubbing that gave Republicans a 54-46 majority.

Democrats stuck with Reid as leader despite the losses, as no challenger emerged in the caucus for his leadership spot despite murmurs of discontent. Several centrist senators voted against him for leader, however.

“I heard the voters of Missouri loud and clear,” Sen Claire McCaskill, who faces reelection in 2016, told the Kansas City Star in saying she would not back Reid for leader. “They want change in Washington. Common sense tells me that begins with changes in leadership.”

Back home in Nevada, Reid is facing what is sure to be a tough reelection race in 2016.

While Reid survived a battle in 2010 against Republican Sharron Angle, Nevada Republicans are looking for a stronger candidate in 2016, and have their sights on Gov. Brian Sandoval, who won reelection in November with 70 percent of the vote.

“I don’t care. If Brian wants to run for the Senate, let him,” Reid said in August. “I don’t care. We get along well. But you know, I understand how things work. But that is up to him.”